General Director - Chairman of the Board of JSC Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, at a meeting with the editors of Gudok, spoke about how the introduction of digital technologies will affect work, how the company cares for veterans, how much railways earned last year and how much they will spend this year, and also answered the question whether a woman can head Russian Railways.
– Oleg Valentinovich, 2017 was a successful year for the company, the main production indicators were met and exceeded. But everyone expects from Russian Railways further growth. Will established records be broken in 2018?
– Last year we managed to achieve really good results. I see this as the merit of the entire team. All departments, employees, every person participated in this work and made their contribution. Our cargo turnover increased by more than 6%, loading reached the level of 2012. We usually compare the work of Russian Railways in terms of loading and cargo turnover with 1988, a record year for the Ministry of Railways. So we have just a little bit left to reach these indicators.
Other indicators for the period modern history We have already exceeded the company's goals. This year, I think, we will set another milestone and exceed the 1988 level in terms of cargo turnover. Based on the results of January, we see that this is possible: the growth in loading was 3.5% (compared to last year’s level - “Gudok”), in February we expect an increase of 3%, one might say, we are following the upper limit of the optimistic scenario.
The company’s profit at the end of 2017 was planned at 3 billion rubles, but amounted to more than 16 billion rubles. One of the key criteria – labor productivity – increased by 9.2%. This is an honest work result, and we are proud of it.
It was important for me to see how the enterprise’s economy works through labor productivity. This parameter seems to me the most important. Since this is the result of the work of the entire team, it was decided to pay our employees a one-time bonus. This should happen before the end of the month.
Another very important point. Roads have traditionally operated on a part-time basis. Last year we moved away from this and now we are fighting for labor productivity using other, correct methods. The mechanism was a temporary measure that made it possible to find a certain balance between layoffs and maintaining human resources. As the trade unions informed us, we have solved this key problem.
Over the past year, we tried to listen to our team more often. I think we succeeded. Our employees are professional, and if they recommend paying attention to something, this is fair in most cases. Including in relation to the creation better conditions work.
– Are you talking about production indicators. But Russian Railways is a huge infrastructure company, with a large number of assets that need to be maintained and developed. How is the investment program implemented?
– The investment program last year amounted to over 470 billion rubles. We purchased 459 locomotives, this year we plan to purchase 600. This is a record investment and a huge amount of work - creating design documentation, forming labor collectives etc. Last year, railway workers launched all planned facilities, opened ahead of schedule - a year ahead of schedule– bypass of Ukraine.
The year was very important and from the point of view of relationships with our suppliers and contractors, we built - in some places we tightened, in others we formed more correctly - our relations with them.
– You talk about labor productivity as one of the most important indicators, but we all understand how it can be increased - either by doing more work, or by doing the same amount of work as before, but with fewer employees. Which path is more important for the company?
– Options for increasing labor productivity may be different. To adhere to any one line, in my understanding, means to narrow the range of possibilities, which is wrong. It is necessary to treat our team with care and, if possible, preserve it. In cases where forced decisions to make redundancies are made, we do not just mechanically fire people, but try to transfer them to other places and give them new experience. I consider the main factor in the growth of labor productivity to be an increase in the volume of work. And last year we attracted about 7 million tons of additional cargo. Increasing labor productivity in this way, in my opinion, is absolutely correct.
– Two years ago, a landmark and very indicative project was launched – the Moscow Central Circle. Now it’s time to create high-speed diameters. When can we expect them to start working?
– MCC Project – new trend in urban transport. Today, passenger transportation in the world is growing much more dynamically than cargo transportation. And the main increase is in agglomerations. We not only keep up with the times, but in a number of cases, according to colleagues from Siemens, and they have something to compare with, we are ahead of foreign analogues.
We plan to launch the first diameters in next year. In the near future, we will more clearly define when and how much work we will be able to implement. The first routes are Lobnya - Odintsovo, Nakhabino - Podolsk.
It is unrealistic to implement such projects without the support of local authorities. It must be a joint interest. There are several bottlenecks that need to be expanded. For example, this is a move from Kursky Station towards the Square of Three Stations. We agreed that Moscow will participate in infrastructure investments. CPPC must purchase rolling stock that meets the special requirements that we will all develop together for the convenience of passengers. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for the timely provision of subsidies. We believe that with the launch of diameters, passenger transportation in the suburbs of Moscow can double.
People in the regions are interested in our experience - Kazan, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg. Of course, in the end, the passenger decides - he will either come to us or not. MCC experience shows that passengers are coming. People are comfortable in ground transport. I think that this is where the future lies.
– You touched on an important topic – comfort. Replacing outdated electric trains with new ones - the main problem commuter traffic. How will this process take place in the coming years?
“In the coming years it will be extremely active. Let me remind you that last year the president of the country held a State Council meeting on passenger transportation. Regarding railway transport, clear instructions were given that we have to carry out. This year we are purchasing about 30 Lastochka electric trains and 22 EP3D electric trains. We need more of the latter, so we are now working with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on a purchase mechanism using leasing in order to increase the volume of purchases significantly. This year we will spend 5 billion rubles on EP3D. If the same money is used as a down payment on the lease payment, you can buy significantly large quantity rolling stock.
This year we will buy 686 long-distance carriages. For comparison: last year it was 425 cars. I think we need to reach the figure of 800 cars per year. The plan is ambitious, but there are questions for the manufacturers. I was recently at the Tver plant - they say there are already not enough welders there. We need to look for specialists.
– Oleg Valentinovich, are there no gravity-type toilets in passenger cars anymore?
– For now, unfortunately, there are still some. We try to equip trains so that new carriages with modern toilets travel to the most popular destinations.
– Several subsidiaries of Russian Railways are engaged in logistics operations, transit, and maintenance of container transportation. Has the moment come when it is necessary to eliminate elements of internal forced competition within the holding?
– Such questions regarding company management will always arise. You can, of course, bring the situation to severe competition and cannibalism, or you can, by understanding the market, separate the functions and streamline the system. It seems to me that we are now following the second path. In our transport and logistics unit, it is clearly defined who should do what. Let's say Gefco cannot perform a certain job in the same way that RZD-Logistics could handle it. Enterprises complement each other. I believe that our subsidiaries in various segments help us make better use of our infrastructure. That is, we are a base for them, and they develop services.
– It is believed that we have reached the limit freight transport and increasing the speed of passenger transportation. And there is an idea to separate, to actually create two infrastructures – cargo and passenger. How relevant is this and how economically feasible?
- Let's go back a little to the beginning of the conversation. We have good growth rates in loading and cargo turnover. We must develop faster than the economy develops, so as not to create problems with transportation. Our investment cycle is 5–7 years. Other economic cycles are much faster. Today, even an enterprise can be built in 2–3 years. We need to develop faster, we need to develop capacity. The potential of the current system has not been exhausted; elements can be added to it to increase cargo turnover.
It is logical to divide the infrastructure in a number of areas. Passenger and freight trains move from at different speeds, so to run one high speed train we need to cut down on a few freight loads.
There are other nuances. As a result of the specialization of lines, we will be able to significantly optimize the costs of maintaining infrastructure, increase the number of trains, improve compliance with the schedule, reliability and speed of delivery of goods and passengers.
We want to launch a pilot project for dividing lines on the Moscow-Krasnodar direction, which is planned to be specialized for accelerated passenger traffic. This will require electrification of the Rtishchevo – Kochetovka and Ozherelye – Uzlovaya – Yelets sections. We believe that this will have a very good economic effect.
– The Digital Railway program has been implemented in the company since last year. It provides for the transfer of technological operations to an automatic, digital mode. How will the implementation of the program affect the work of Russian Railways employees?
- Good question. I would like to answer the question with a question: how does digitalization affect your work? It will have the same effect on ours.
Seriously, the digitalization of traditional infrastructures produces very interesting effects. We all know how, for example, the taxi service or the public services sector have changed with the advent of electronic services. It’s convenient and beneficial for everyone, without exception! From this angle we look at the digitalization of the railway.
Moreover, it has been going on for several years now: control systems are being automated, new client services are being introduced, such as the sale of train tickets and the so-called carriage exchange. Another thing is that there was no systematic view of the process, and moving chaotically is not the railway way. Therefore, it was decided to develop a comprehensive program, which we called “Digital Railway”. The document contains an analysis of possible directions for introducing digital technologies in the industry.
Any automation creates a foundation for increasing efficiency. Of course, it will also affect professions - some will disappear, some will appear. But I can say for sure that a number of tasks cannot be completed by anyone except a person, no “digital”, no computer.
– This year Russia will host the FIFA World Cup, perhaps the main sporting event in the whole world. And Russian railways are preparing to receive many foreign guests. How do you assess the level of preparation of railways for this event today? And how do such sporting events, in principle, affect the appearance of railways?
– Preparation for any important event gives a good, positive effect. And even more so if we are talking about the championship, which will be attended by people from different countries! Of course, we want to demonstrate to everyone that our railway service is the best in the world.
I would like to remind you that Russia, as the host country, is obliged to provide transportation for fans and guests of the championship. We predict that more than 2.6 million fans will use long-distance trains alone. 736 additional train trips will be scheduled on 30 routes.
All work is on schedule. We are completing work on preparing the stations. A total of 31 stations will be renovated. Moreover, in Nizhny Novgorod We are actually building a new and modern station from scratch, and in Volgograd, in addition to reconstruction, we are carrying out serious restoration. We also use new technologies. The electronics of the Smart Station system itself creates a comfortable environment for passengers. I don’t even know who will manage whom: the head of the station or the station manager, we’ll see.
Our work last year during the Confederations Cup received high marks. And we will do everything to work perfectly and pleasantly surprise the guests of the championship.
– At the end of last year, at the final meeting of the board, you instructed to pay attention to the working conditions of women in the company. We are now faced with the fact that local people have understood this task differently. What exactly did you mean, how should this work take place in the holding, will new professions be available to women?
“My colleagues and I have already discussed approaches to this work; a Coordination Council has been formed to improve working conditions, leisure and social support for women. My position is purely pragmatic: we need to create conditions so that every person can realize themselves. Yes, the company has professions that require heavy physical labor. Essentially, we must evaluate the principles of the division of female and male labor. At the same time, of course, men and women have characteristics that need to be taken into account. Women become mothers, and they need help in every possible way.
I agree, it is difficult to take care of children with all your dedication and work at the same time. But it seems to me that now everything can be done. The company, for its part, has every opportunity to create the most comfortable working conditions for mothers. We have a responsibility to give them the opportunity to reach their potential. I believe that among managers there should be more women. And we need to get away as quickly as possible from practices where women work in professions with difficult working conditions.
– Can you imagine that someday a woman will head Russian Railways?
- Can. I even know who could do it. And this is not just one woman, there are many of them.
– The Ministry of Economic Development forecasts that over the next 5-6 years, 800 thousand of the working-age population will leave each year, that is, from 4 to 5 million people. JSC Russian Railways is the largest employer in the country, and this problem is likely to affect the company. What is happening with personnel today and how is the policy carried out to retain and train new specialists who are so necessary for the holding?
“No matter what we come up with, people will work.” Without people, iron will not work. Therefore, I will not tire of repeating: the company’s key capital is people.
Today the company has an optimal balance between different ages: 30% of employees are 25–35 years old, 30% are from 35 to 45 years old and 30% are over 45 years old. Young people add dynamism to the company and look at familiar things in a new way. The older generation passes on traditions, instills a taste for work, and acts as mentors. At the same time, it is extremely important to pay attention to pensioners and veterans. This work also requires new approaches, and we have already taken practical steps in this direction.
In January we opened the Senior Center. The leadership of our Central Health Directorate and I set this goal for ourselves a year ago. People need to know that if they work well in a company, they will not be ignored. The Russian Ministry of Health has carried out the necessary legislative work, and we, in close cooperation with Russian and Israeli specialists, have taken a number of practical steps to ensure that this project is brought to life.
It is obvious that feeling as comfortable and protected as possible is important for every employee of the company. Some work until 6 p.m., others until 8 p.m. We know that schools or kindergartens work from bell to bell, but their calls do not always coincide with ours, and it is not always possible for us to leave half an hour earlier and come half an hour later. Accordingly, we need different operating conditions for children's institutions. We are working in this direction with the regions.
– Nowadays the topic of quality of education and the real readiness of university graduates for work is often raised. What is Russian Railways doing to adapt new employees? What do you think about mentoring?
“This is another area to which the country’s leadership has now paid close attention. Last week the final of the All-Russian project “Leaders of Russia” took place in Sochi, in which seven company employees took part. In February, VDNKh will host the “Mentor-2018” forum, aimed at developing a professional mentoring environment.
For us, railway workers, this question is not formal. Who should be considered a good leader? How to evaluate it? Individual qualities and achievements are important, but ultimately the main task is to create a working system within the team that is capable of development. Otherwise it will be a “kingdom for an hour.”
We need to engage in development talented youth, we need to form the next generation, create conditions for them - the company needs such leaders.
Every new employee at JSC Russian Railways must be assigned an experienced mentor. It is important for young workers to gain a deeper understanding of the railway industry, the culture and structure of the company, its goals and objectives, this increases their motivation to work. In return, the company will receive additional useful initiatives from young workers that can be used. Only in this way will Russian Railways achieve the pace of change that determines the successful development of modern companies.
We are all mentors to our colleagues in one way or another, we just don’t focus on it. Attentive attitude towards junior colleagues, respect, and sometimes friendly advice create the right atmosphere, and therefore a real, efficient team.
– On March 18, the country’s presidential elections will take place. The company has previously provided election commissions with the opportunity to organize voting among passengers at train stations. Will this practice be implemented this year?
– The company has an agreement with the Central Election Commission; polling stations will operate at 37 railway stations. We actively participate in public life and will create the most comfortable conditions so that everyone can vote: passengers and, of course, our employees. Moreover, many of them work in remote, hard-to-reach areas.
We have done a lot, created huge reserves for the future, and everything achieved must not only be preserved, but also necessarily increased. There are a lot of us. If you add up us, the holding’s employees, our families, pensioners, veterans, and subcontractors, we will probably be close to the “controlling stake” of voters. That is, it is you and me who decide where and with whom we will go next. The future of the country really depends on us to a large extent. Therefore, it is very important to come to the polling stations. I am sure we will choose the right path!
Oleg Belozerov is a Russian state and public figure, active state adviser of the first class, a young official and head of road transport enterprises. For his professionalism, in May 2009 he was appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, and on August 20, 2015, he received a promotion and, by decree of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, was appointed to the position of head of JSC Russian Railways.
Belozerov Oleg Valentinovich was born on September 26, 1969 in the Latvian city of Ventspils. My parents worked as doctors in a local clinic: my father was a radiologist, my mother was a neurologist. WITH early years The boy's serious hobby became athletics - long jump and sprint. Oleg achieved amazing results in the 400 m race. His school record still remains officially unbroken.
Even as a child, the boy was impressed by the railway. Oleg loved to travel around Latvia with his parents, and then made small trips on his own. The romantic nature was surprised by the medieval castles that the train rushed past. Such travels left indelible memories in Belozerov’s memory.
Oleg was an exemplary student at school, striving to gain knowledge, which allowed him to successfully graduate from the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance in 1992 and receive a diploma in economics in industrial planning. In addition to receiving higher education Oleg Belozerov repaid his debt to his homeland by serving for a year on the border with Norway, in Murmansk. A young man completed his service in the sports company.
After graduating from university, Belozerov decided to continue his studies, so he entered graduate school to receive a Ph.D. And here he was expected to succeed: Oleg defended his dissertation on the topic “Organization of supply logistics in vertically integrated corporate-type structures” and became a candidate of economic sciences.
Having received a higher education, Oleg Valentinovich first worked in his specialty and gained valuable experience in his chosen field of activity. As a result, the biography of Oleg Belozerov reached another level. Thanks to hard work and perseverance, the future head of JSC Russian Railways entered the world of energy, taking a leadership position in the company JSC Lenenergo.
Career
Since 2000, Oleg Belozerov’s career has been continuously connected with the road transport sector. The first position at the new stage of his biography was Freight Motor Transport Enterprise No. 21, in which he served as deputy director. After working for a while in his post, Oleg Valentinovich ended up in the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District, where he headed the financial and economic department.
In 2002, the future head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov was invited to OJSC LOMO to the position of head of corporate property management, and at the end of the same year he was appointed general director of OJSC Russian Fuel Company. Two years later, Oleg Valentinovich received a promotion and became deputy head of the Federal Road Agency, which he headed literally six months later. Over the next five years, until 2009 inclusive, Belozerov led the road agency and proved his professionalism in this field.
In 2009, he was noticed by the government Russian Federation, where as a result he ended up as the country's Deputy Minister of Transport. At the Ministry of Transport, the future head of Russian Railways dealt with the development of roads and railways, establishing himself as a responsible employee who, despite difficulties with the budget and investment, did a lot for the country in this direction.
During his career, Oleg Belozerov’s achievements were repeatedly awarded honorary titles and awards. In 2004, he was awarded the sign “Honorary Worker of the Fuel and Energy Complex”, in 2006 he received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree, and in 2014 he became the owner of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree.
On August 20, 2015, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Oleg Belozerov was appointed to the post of head of Russian Railways. The decree on the appointment was signed by the country's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who instructed Oleg Valentinovich to begin performing duties in the new position without “swinging.” Belozerov managed to get this post after his predecessor Vladimir Yakunin voluntarily resigned, leaving the chair of the head of the Russian state-owned vertically integrated company, one of the three largest in the world.
The change in leadership occurred due to the fact that the previous head of Russian Railways was unable to organize the work of the monopoly organization without constant preferences from the state budget. Belozerov was tasked with optimizing industry costs.
In his new position as head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov had to develop promising projects planned by the former leadership, which included the reconstruction of railways in Serbia, the construction of the Trans-Korean Railway, and the continuation of the construction of high-speed highways in Russia in the Moscow-Kazan direction. At the same time, the new head of Russian Railways was tasked with “combining approaches” in passenger transportation, reducing the percentage of passenger dissatisfaction with the services provided transport company services and support economic level Russian Railways, preventing the enterprise from becoming unprofitable.
Belozerov has high competition with the former head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, who did a lot to develop the largest infrastructure monopoly, but he immediately began to fulfill his duties. The new head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, focused on increasing the speed of traffic in Russia, and also made efforts to invest capital in this industry of the Russian Federation.
First of all, the company got rid of unprofitable assets, but at the same time continued to finance railway hospitals, clinics, as well as the Lokomotiv football and hockey clubs. The new head of Russian Railways made personnel changes and increased the flow of container traffic. Russian Railways refused to purchase imported rails; instead, agreements were concluded with the Russian metallurgical companies Evraz and Mechel.
Freight prices were raised by 9% and some benefits were abolished, which increased Russian Railways' profits. On the one hand, this measure allowed the company to completely do without financial injections from the state, on the other hand, it became an indirect tax for Russian citizens, as prices for transported goods increased. But already in 2016, the corporation achieved maximum cargo transportation figures for the first time in recent years.
Personal life
Oleg Belozerov’s personal life is as stable as his work activity. The head of Russian Railways has been married to Olga Alexandrovna since 1994 and has two children. Son Matvey was born in 1996 and is receiving a diploma in journalism. Daughter Veronica, born in 2001, is deciding on her choice of university. Family photos of the head of Russian Railways do not appear in the media.
Oleg Valentinovich did not appear in scandals either regarding career issues or personal ones. Friends and relatives consider him an excellent family man, a caring father and a loving husband.
Oleg Belozerov’s income in 2014, according to information from official sources, amounted to a little more than 12 million rubles, and his wife earned the same amount. The head of Russian Railways also owns an apartment with an area of almost 220 square meters. meters, cottage and land.
Oleg Belozerov now
In 2017, the Russian Railways company, under the leadership of Belozerov, achieved record profit levels, which amounted to 139.7 billion rubles, which influenced the growth of the salary of the head of the holding. If in 2015 Belozerov earned 86.2 million rubles for the year, then in 2016 the amount of annual income amounted to 172.9 million rubles. Unlike his predecessor, Belozerov files his tax return openly. This growth is due to the high efficiency of Oleg Valentinovich.
In the same year, Belozerov appealed to the country’s leadership with a request to change the title of his position from “president” to “general director”, since the second name is accepted in international practice.
In May 2017, at a meeting with Chinese colleagues in Beijing, Oleg Belozerov felt ill, and the CEO Russian company was hospitalized with a diagnosis of appendicitis. Oleg Belozerov was successfully operated on at the hospital.
Now Belozerov continues to improve the work of the Russian Railways holding company, but in 2018 he was unable to increase tariffs for reserved seat seats due to the intervention of the antimonopoly service.
Vladimir Yakunin was replaced as head of Russian Railways by Deputy Minister of Transport Oleg Belozerov. Fontanka studied the biography of another “Moscow St. Petersburg resident”; the name Rotenberg persistently appears in it.
The appointment of First Deputy Minister of Transport Oleg Belozerov to the post of President of Russian Railways did not come as a complete surprise: he was named among the candidates for this post - along with the vice-president of the railway company Alexander Misharin, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and his immediate boss, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov.
46-year-old Belozerov, like Yakunin, can be called a 100% Petersburger, although he was born in the Latvian city of Ventspils. IN state register Latvian doctors have information about a doctor with the rare name Leonil Belozerov. This is exactly the name of the mother of the new head of Russian Railways, according to Fontanka. Thus, theoretically, it can be assumed that Oleg Belozerov’s parents either lived or still live in Latvia.
If the last assumption is true, then Oleg Belozerov will have a particularly difficult time resolving the conflict with Latvia. Let us recall that after the head of the local railways was arrested, Russian Railways completely stopped the transit of goods through this country due to “repair of tracks.”
Oleg Belozerov studied in Leningrad: in 1986 he entered the Leningrad University of Finance and Economics, from which he graduated in 1992 with a break for military service. After receiving his diploma, he worked as a manager and economist in various small companies. In the mid-1990s, he became one of the founders of the Lagun construction company, where he also officially worked as deputy director for economics and finance.
According to Fontanka, Belozerov owned a 19% stake in this company. The main owner was the famous St. Petersburg businessman Andrei Kadkin. The Lagun company became a major contractor for Lenenergo and Vodokanal. By 1998, up to 1,000 people worked in the structures of Lagoon OJSC. He was even involved in schemes that seem dubious today.
So, in 1997, Lagoon received free of charge from the Morozov Defense Plant Construction Materials. The contractor, using these materials, carried out work for Lenenergo. The energy company, in turn, repaid the debt of the regional children's clinical hospital for the consumed heat energy. As a result, the Finance Committee of the Leningrad Region reduced the amount of taxes that the plant had to pay by the amount received. Moreover, there was nothing to officially pay the company with.
In 1998, Oleg Belozerov went to work at Lenenergo, where he was first deputy commercial director for fuel, and then commercial director. At the same time, according to one of Belozerov’s partners, the future head of Russian Railways met the brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. At that time, only judo fans knew about them: Boris had just returned from Finland, Roman had several companies and free time practiced judo with Vice Mayor Vladimir Putin.
In 1998, Roman Rotenberg, together with Gennady Timchenko, created the Yavara-Neva judo club, of which Vladimir Putin became the honorary president. Belozerov’s partner at Lagoon OJSC, Andrey Kadkin, also took part in the work of the club: according to the SPARK system, he was the founder of SKD Yavara-Neva LLC, which is building a sports complex and yacht club on Bychiy Island.
In 2000, Oleg Belozerov left Lenenergo and changed jobs several times. First, he returned to Lagoon and worked for six months as deputy director of OJSC Freight Motor Transport Enterprise No. 21, one of the group’s subsidiaries. Now GATP-21 is part of the structure of the largest passenger carrier in the city, JSC Tretiy Park, and is the enterprise’s park on Vitebsky Prospekt.
He worked in the office of the presidential envoy in the North-Western District as head of the financial and economic department, and in 2001-2002 - deputy director of OJSC LOMO for corporate property management. Finally, in 2002, he headed the Russian Fuel Company OJSC, which supplies peat, fuel oil and coal throughout the country. The company is currently 100% state owned and is considered strategic enterprise. Archival records are not publicly available, however, according to Forbes, at one time the Northern Sea Route bank of the Rotenberg brothers owned a stake in the company.
As an interlocutor in St. Petersburg business circles says, even before his appointment to the Russian Fuel Company, Oleg Belozerov was well acquainted with St. Petersburg businessman Igor Chuyan, who in the same 2002 became an employee of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosspirtprom and gradually rose to the rank of director of this enterprise. The Federal State Unitary Enterprise coordinates the work of the remaining state distilleries. The Rotenberg brothers, through affiliated companies, were co-owners of some of these enterprises, and the media persistently attributed Rosspirtprom to their area of interest.
In mid-2004, Oleg Belozerov became deputy head of the Federal Road Agency, and at the end of that year he headed it. Under him, the largest contractor of Rosavtodor became the Mostotrest company, which is also partly owned by the Rotenberg family. According to SPARK, in 2005 the total volume of government contracts concluded by Mostotrest amounted to 15 billion rubles. In 2007 it was about 12 billion, in 2010 – about 131.
Another interesting fact: according to Fontanka, Oleg Belozerov is also well acquainted with Dmitry Kalantyrsky, who for a long time was the head of the Northern Sea Route bank. For example, in February 2013, Belozerov and Kalantyrsky went together for a weekend in the Pskov region. Perhaps the purpose of the trip was business. However, it is worth mentioning that Kalantyrsky is a co-owner of Zaozerye LLC, registered in St. Petersburg.
His partner Petr Orlov owns a company of the same name from the Pskov region, which owns the Zaozerye recreation center in the Pushkin Mountains. And Orlov’s partner in this business, Svetlana Barinova, is also the founder of OJSC “Imbir”. This Joint-Stock Company was formed after the privatization of the State Unitary Enterprise "Imbir", which managed the baths on the corner of Sredny Avenue and the 5th line. Now part of the building is rented out for offices. Another founder of “Ginger” is the wife of the new president of Russian Railways, Olga Belozerova.
Oleg Belozerov became Deputy Minister of Transport in March 2009. According to his official declaration, in 2014 he earned 10.5 million rubles, his wife - 12.1 million. The new president of Russian Railways owns an apartment of 214 square meters. m on Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt, purchased back in 1997.
Andrey Zakharov,
Oleg Belozerov was born in the Latvian port town of Ventspils. Oleg Belozerov's childhood passed among the cozy streets of this city, rich in attractions and filled with clean sea air. But the smart boy did not see sufficient prospects for native land and after graduating from school, he decided to move to Leningrad, where he entered the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute (LFEI).
In those years, the future chairman of the board of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, studied at the LFEI graduate school, and the laboratory of regional economic problems was headed by the now famous economist Andrei Illarionov. And although Oleg Belozerov could not establish close relations with them then, the face of the young student was remembered by both, and ten years later he managed to join the so-called “St. Petersburg team.” In addition, Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov even had mutual acquaintances with future wife Dmitry Medvedev Svetlana Linnik, who also graduated from this educational institution. True, he did not know Svetlana herself.
The most important institute acquaintance for Oleg Belozerov was Andrei Likhachev, who was several years older than him and already had certain connections. After Oleg Belozerov received his higher education, Likhachev introduced him to St. Petersburg businessman Andrei Kadkin. For some time they tried to start their own business, opening various offices, which, however, could not be called successful.
This was the case until Likhachev, who had connections in the energy sector, proposed to establish construction company"Lagun", which was supposed to become a contractor for Lenenergo. Oleg Belozerov became a co-founder and, at the same time, deputy general director for economics and finance. The third co-founder was Kadkin.
It should be noted that this Kadkin did not always conduct business cleanly. For example, free construction materials received from the Morozov Defense Plant were used to fulfill orders for Lenenergo. Andrei Olegovich’s style of work will continue in the future, which will ultimately lead to the initiation of a criminal case for the theft of 3 billion rubles from the St. Petersburg budget. In those years, Oleg Belozerov also met a friend of Kadkin, co-owner of the Yavara-Neva judo sports club.
Oleg Belozerov and career
In 1998, Likhachev managed to obtain for Oleg Belozerov a good place in Lenenergo itself, and a year later Andrei Nikolaevich himself became general director this company. Under his patron, Oleg Belozerov rose from deputy commercial director for fuel to commercial director. True, over time he was transferred to the position of head of the department for logistics and transport at Lenenergo.
All these movements took place literally in one year, and already in 2000, Oleg Belozerov left for OJSC Freight Motor Transport Enterprise No. 21, where he became deputy general director. It is not known why Oleg Belozerov left, but literally a few months later Likhachev, who managed to be the vice-governor of St. Petersburg and establish connections with government officials, offered him a place in the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District. But even here Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov did not last long and moved to the LOMO company.
During these years, the first wave of transfers to Moscow “St. Petersburg” posts had already passed, and a second, more massive one began. People were indiscriminately recruited for good positions, guided only by their St. Petersburg origin and their connections “at the top.” It was in this wave that Oleg Belozerov found himself. Likhachev and Kadkin discovered that there was a vacant position for the head of OJSC Russian Fuel Company (Rostopprom), more than 70% of the shares of which belonged to the state, and recommended Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov for it.
Rostopprom at that time was almost the only company that was involved in the peat industry and also mined coal. IN this structure Belozerov’s patrons had already tried to penetrate the board of directors, providing support to Arkady Rotenberg’s son Igor. And although the attempt was unsuccessful, Igor Arkadyevich Rotenberg was hired as deputy head of the property department of the fuel and energy complex. And if Rotenberg Jr., who does not have a higher education, took such a rather large position, then why shouldn’t Oleg Belozerov head the entire company?
The candidacy of Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov began to circulate through various ministries from the Ministry of Energy to the Ministry of Property. Few people had any idea who it was or whose frame it was. When Oleg Belozerov’s case reached the personnel apparatus of the Presidential Administration, at first the personnel officers from Staraya Square were confused by the candidate’s frequent job changes, so he was “rejected.” We had to convey the information that this was “our” person and his candidacy needed to be approved. In order to change the management of Rostopprom, an extraordinary meeting of shareholders was even convened. As a result, Oleg Belozerov successfully took the desired position.
Oleg Belozerov and FDA
Oleg Belozerov worked at Rostopprom for two years, even seeming to show good results. In 2004, it became known that the post of head of the Federal Road Agency (FDA), headed by Anatoly Nasonov, would soon be vacated. The then Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov decided to remove him from his post on the advice of President Vladimir Putin, who, while still the head of the Main Control Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation, achieved Nasonov’s resignation from the post of head of the Federal Road Service for numerous cases of misuse of funds.
At that time, about $3 billion was allocated for the agency. On the one hand, after Nasonov, it was necessary to find a person with an unblemished reputation, and at the same time capable of rectifying the deplorable situation with the roads, i.e. having sufficient management experience. On the other hand, it was impossible to hire someone from outside for such big money. Oleg Belozerov at that time had firmly established himself as part of the “St. Petersburg team,” and his biography and business qualities gave reason to hope that he would not raise questions among the professional community. In addition, the Rotenberg brothers entered the “road business”, to whom Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov was not a stranger at all.
So in November 2004, Oleg Belozerov became the head of the Federal Road Agency. And naturally Belozerov saw his first task as placing his people in key places. So, for example, in 2005, Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov set out to appoint his own person, Viktor Ivanov, as head of the Center for International Transport (ITC). At the same time, he acted ahead, not paying attention to labor legislation. Thus, Oleg Belozerov dismissed the head of the Center for MP Viktor Brazhny directly from vacation. However, the result of such a personnel decision was disastrous. Ivanov, not understanding anything about the work that was entrusted to him, sharply worsened the quality of the Center’s work.
Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov, despite the fact that he often complained about a chronic lack of money and advocated for toll roads, still generally coped well with the tasks assigned. Under him, a number of major road projects were launched. True, the statements of Oleg Belozerov himself often contradicted each other. On the one hand, he stated that 60% of roads are in unsatisfactory condition, and if funding does not change, in 10 years this figure will increase to 80%, on the other hand, he reported that all Russian car roads will be brought into compliance by 2013.
Over time, the head of Rosavtodor began to mercilessly criticize his own department, complaining about its limited organizational capabilities in the face of growing bureaucratic red tape and constantly changing legislation. Oleg Belozerov saw attracting investment to the agency as the only prospect. He promised that by 2015, funding from external sources will reach 1 trillion. rubles
Despite all these facts, during the time that Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov was in office, the length of roads common use in Russia grew by 32%. The then President Dmitry Medvedev noticed the successes of the head of Rosavtodor, and in February Oleg Belozerov was included in the so-called “first hundred” of the management personnel reserve. And already in March 2009, he was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation.
Oleg Belozerov Minister
In his new post, he continued to support the idea of toll roads. The most famous such project, which was launched back when Oleg Belozerov headed Rosavtodor, is toll road Moscow, Saint Petersburg. The tender for the work was naturally won by the Rotenberg brothers, as they won many other construction projects federal highway M-4 "Don", M-11 "Narva" and M9 "Baltia". According to the plan, the road was supposed to partially pass through the Khimki forest park. It was against this plan that residents of the city of Khimki, led by activist Evgenia Chirikova, began to protest.
Oleg Belozerov then claimed that the project had passed three environmental examinations and received five positive conclusions from the Glavgosexpertiza, which, among others, included sections on environmental protection. In response, Chirikova provided papers from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank, which stated that the banks were not going to finance the project due to the fact that its environmental review had not been completed.
Soon they demanded an answer from Oleg Belozerov for another incident. In 2010, the so-called “dancing bridge” created a lot of hype in Volgograd region, when you could watch how the multi-kilometer bridge literally moved in waves. Having flown to the scene of the incident, the deputy minister explained everything by aerodynamics. And, it would seem, what demand is there for Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov, he wasn’t the one who built the bridge. But the whole point is that the work of engineers on this bridge was accepted by Rosavtodor, even under Oleg Belozerov.
But all these minor failures had little effect on the reputation of Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov. And when in 2010 there were rumors about the imminent resignation of Transport Minister Igor Levitin, all experts unanimously said that his deputy should replace him. Then it was believed that the young promising politician would have to strengthen Medvedev’s position. Moreover, it was he who headed the Operational Headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Transport to eliminate the consequences emergency in the Krasnodar region after the flood in Krymsk. But by 2012 the situation had changed, and Maxim Sokolov became minister.
In 2013, Oleg Belozerov began to lose his hardware positions. Thus, observers demanded that the results of the tender for laying a tunnel at Sheremetyevo airport be declared invalid. The tender was then won by the Rotenberg company TPS Avia Group. Competition for this work called profanation.
In order to strengthen his influence, Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov decided to carry out a personnel purge in his native Rosavtodor. Belozerov then set himself the main task of replacing the director of the organization, Roman Starovoit, with his own man. Such a person was Starovoit’s deputy, Andrei Kostyuk, who began by purging lower-level personnel and launched a campaign to discredit his leader, “framing” him in every possible way. It was assumed that Oleg Belozerov would “punch” Kostyuk’s candidacy for the post of director of Rosavtodor. At the same time, there were rumors that Kostyuk would ensure the interests of the St. Petersburg crime boss Vladimir Golubev, nicknamed "Barmaley". But in the end, the resignation never took place.
Despite the fact that the prospects for further growth for Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov remained vague, he settled quite firmly in his place. Thus, it was he who was appointed responsible for the implementation of the presidential decree on doubling the pace of road construction.
At the same time, Oleg Belozerov did not hesitate to refute the figures indicating large-scale thefts in road construction. In 2015, he said that Russian roads are much cheaper than roads in Europe and the United States. Among the power elite, the ability to pronounce such things with a blue eye, I must say, is also valued. Thanks to all these qualities, Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov still managed to advance in career ladder, and in 2015 became First Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation.
Oleg Valentinovich Belozerov took the post of head of JSC Russian Railways in 2015. And already the first year of its work showed incredible results - without additional subsidies from the state, not only a financially balanced result was obtained, but also a record increase in profits was achieved, namely 20 times. The second record was the indicator of tariff turnover of goods, which reached 2 trillion. 342 billion ton-kilometers. What are the management secrets of O. V. Belozerov, who is called one of the most effective Russian managers?
Oleg Belozerov is a native of Latvia. He was born into a family of doctors who worked in the Ventspils clinic in 1969 (September 26). While studying at city school No. 2, Oleg was actively involved in athletics, specializing in both the long jump and sprint (his achievement in the 400 m run still remains a school record). His other hobby was traveling to historical places; he visited all the medieval castles of Latvia. However, after graduating from school, the young man decided to get a serious profession. In 1986, he became a student at the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute (now the State Economic University of St. Petersburg). During his years of study, Oleg Belozerov had to serve in the army (taking into account his athletics training, in a sports company), and with the beginning of perestroika, he began to work in one of the youth scientific and technical centers that appeared then. In this regard, Belozerov defended his diploma in economics by studying by correspondence. After this there was a marriage to Olga Belozerova (1994) and the birth of a son, Matvey (1996).
Received back in student years experience practical work, combined with high level knowledge, allowed Oleg to successfully prove himself in managerial positions. In 1998, he became deputy commercial director of Lenenergo, then became head of the supply and transport department of this structure. High work efficiency and good earnings allowed him not only to provide a decent financial situation for his family, in which his daughter Veronica was born in 2001, but also to transport his parents from Latvia, buying them housing on Vasilyevsky Island.
In 2000, Oleg Valentinovich became deputy director of cargo ATP No. 21, in the same year he headed the financial and economic department under the office of the presidential representative for the North-West federal district. He then worked as Deputy Director for Management of LOMO and General Director of the Russian Fuel Company.
In July 2004, Oleg Belozerov took the position of deputy head of the Federal Road Agency. At the same time, he studied in graduate school and in 2005 successfully defended his thesis on the problems of supply logistics in corporate structures. Four years later, Oleg Valentinovich became Deputy Minister of Motor Transport of the Russian Federation, and he had to directly lead projects related to the holding of the APEC summit and the Kazan Universiade in Vladivostok. In August 2015, after the dismissal of Gleb Yakunin on his own initiative, Oleg Belozerov was offered to head the management of Russian Railways.
The main task that faced the new leader was to bring the main indicators of the Russian Railways budget into line with real income from its activities, and to streamline passenger and freight transportation. The basis for this was work in several areas at once, the first of which was cost reduction, mainly through the liquidation of non-core assets. Belozerov without regret parted with corporate television (for which he later managed to find resources), but retained the network of railway hospitals and clinics, as well as the Lokomotiv football and hockey clubs.
The priority areas for the development of Russian Railways are innovation and increasing energy efficiency. Among the specific transformations, it should be noted, first of all, the reduction of the administrative apparatus by 10% and the creation of a unified administrative and organizational structure, as well as an increase in the share of container transportation, a reduction in the tariff for freight mileage with a simultaneous increase in it for empty traffic, preferential travel for schoolchildren and students in summer time. On Belozerov's initiative, orders for new rails, instead of transferring them to Japan, were placed at domestic enterprises Mechel and Evraz. A big event for the capital was the opening of the Moscow Railway for passenger transportation. central ring, integrated with the metro, which transports 300 thousand passengers per day. The new head of Russian Railways initiated the project to build a high-speed line between Moscow and Kazan; traffic on it is planned to open in 2021.
The first year of O. V. Belozerov’s work ended with an increase in all the main indicators of railway transport, many of which reached their maximum level, and the total profit, amounting to 3.7 billion rubles, was 12 times higher than the value achieved last year. The manager’s earnings were fully reflected in the declarations and amounted to 170 million rubles, which was twice the same amount before he took office. The press began to talk about the possible transition of Oleg Valentinovich to the post of Minister of Transport, but all changes in his status came down to an appeal to the government with an initiative to change the name of the leadership position in accordance with European traditions– not “president”, but “general director-chairman of the board”.
On May 15, 2017, during an international forum in Beijing, it became known that Belozerov was hospitalized and had an appendectomy. The future plans of the General Director of Russian Railways include improving the work of the Council of Railway Transport of the CIS Countries. As for his interests outside of work, Oleg Valentinovich is still interested in running, loves fishing, and also TV game"What where When?" and supports the Russian Railways corporate league of the same name. In addition, he is a member of the trustees of the Russian Geographical Society.
